Effects of the surface morphology of transparent electrode on film deposition and photovoltaic performance of A-SI:H solar cells

Abstract The relation between the open-circuit voltage (Voc) and the surface morphology of transparent electrodes (TE) in a-Si:H based solar cell was studied. It was found that use of TE's with higher Haze ratios led to lowering the Voc, and the drop in Voc occurred severely when the thickness of i-layer was less than 200nm. The cause of the Voc drop was investigated by transmission electron microscopy and current-voltage characteristics under the dark condition. These results indicated that defects arising from “grain boundaries” of a-Si:H existed in the i layer near the TE/a-Si interface, and these acted as a recombination center for carriers.